


Fragile World

by bimgnusbane



Series: Heaven, the Moon, and the Sun [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: F/M, Implied Sexual Content, post-213, there's a tiny bit of Clary salt in this fair warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 10:52:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11735544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bimgnusbane/pseuds/bimgnusbane
Summary: In the days following the night behind the Hunter's Moon, Jace finds solace in Maia's company.





	Fragile World

**Author's Note:**

> "All the burden that I face inside every night  
> I'm a stranger when I wake, wake up in your eyes"  
> \- Alberto Rosende, Fragile World

        Jace needs to shut his mind off and just forget. It’s all too much and it’s not like there’s people available to talk about it with. The Jonathan thing, the guilt that comes with the Soul Sword, his newfound family line, and of course the ever growing complication that is The Clary Situation. He would give anything to just have a normal relationship like Magnus and Alec. Hell, his adoptive siblings are in his only friends. So maybe that’s why two nights after Simon’s show, he ends up back in the Hunter’s Moon.

       He orders a beer, barely looking Maia in the eye, and hunkers down in the corner away from everyone. He ends up staying until her shift is over, just...thinking or more like trying not to. Maia, smiling as ever, takes mercy on him.

       “Drink it.” She sets a glass of water in front of him though he's only had the one drink he's nursed all night. “And then you can settle your tab by walking me home.” She's off before he can respond, cleaning tables and setting chairs up on them. He drinks the water slow and keeps an eye on her. Jace stands when he's done, cleans off the glass, and sets it back in its place. Not a moment after it slides into place, Maia shifts on her jacket. 

     “Let’s go then.” Jace smirks just a bit, offering his arm to be cheeky. To his surprise, Maia takes it after grabbing her purse and leading him towards her apartment. 

     “So, how'd you sneak past the palace guards?” She asks him, a laugh in her voice and a smile on her face. It makes a smile appear on Jace's as well, a soft genuine one he's not had in a long time. They joke like that the rest of the way to her place. He's surprised at how comfortable and easy this is. Like it makes sense, the most sense possible. His mind is easy, his shoulders don't feel heavy. 

     Maia invites him inside. Of course she does. And the sex just makes it all even blurrier. It's time, tangled in cotton sheets, that lets him forget about everything else but Maia in front of him and the feeling of what they're doing. It's the only form of bliss he knows. And maybe that's why he's stays the night, makes her coffee in the morning and orders donuts. Maybe that's why he's so scared he sneaks out before she wakes. Maybe that's why he comes back the next night he's off patrol and then the next. 

       Maybe that's why this all started. It’s most definitely why he keeps coming back week after week, even if it’s a drink after patrol, even if he doesn’t go home with her, he sits at the bar and they talk as she serves. He barely notices when a couple times a week becomes every chance he gets. Being around Maia is as easy as breathing, the Hunter’s Moon a safe place away from it all. Only Alec notices as they tend to leave around the same time. He gives him a knowing look but says nothing, only turns the opposite direction towards Magnus’ loft.

       It’s maybe a month later, no, the morning after the day they nearly lose Max. Jace spent all night sitting up with Alec and watching him fall apart. Alec had been, was still, so incredibly crushed and Jace can still feel the heartbreak through the bond as he takes the long way to the bar. He’s trying to forget it all, watching his family in pain, the fear and loss that had shot through him when he received that text. He needs it all to shut off for a moment and the only way he can do that is to go and see Maia. So Jace waits until Alec has finally passed out from exhaustion, Izzy sitting next to him with a worried expression, and leaves.

      “You look like you got hit with a truck full of past regrets.” Maia says the second he walks up to the bar. He huffs a laugh and shrugs. 

       “Something like that at least.” Jace smiles awkwardly and it’s genuine even when it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “We almost lost Max and Magnus left Alec and everyone’s just stressed and sad and getting no sleep...this whole..war..it’s a fucking mess.”

       “I’ll drink to that.” Maia slides him a drink. “Well, if it makes you feel any better my night wasn’t much better.” Jace raises an eyebrow. “We uh...got a new pack member.” He nods, not asking her to elaborate and knocks back the drink. 

     “We can be sad and stressed and tired together then.” Jace laughs. They talk back and forth the rest of the night as he walks her home and not much happens. They’re both exhausted, sleeping till noon and Jace doesn’t leave until he gets a text from Izzy asking him to take Alec duty so she can go back to Max. He kisses her on the temple before he leaves, a quiet thank you for all the help. And from there it keeps happening, they talk, they hook up, sometimes they don’t even say anything and barely make it past the back alley. He finds he doesn’t mind. 

    Their arrangement is good. It’s no stress and exactly what he needs right now, something simple. Maia is far from simple but their situation is.


End file.
